Blog>News>Cost of maintaining our homes rises by 3.5%, as brits risk £20,000 bill by putting off small maintenance tasks
Last updated: 1 May 2024
Cost of maintaining our homes rises by 3.5%, as brits risk £20,000 bill by putting off small maintenance tasks
6.4m British households are risking a bill of £20,000 on their properties, which they could easily have saved had they not put off simple tasks around the house.
Fast Facts
Home maintenance costs are rising by an average of 3.5% across the UK
6.4m UK households set to needlessly spend £20,000 by putting off home maintenance tasks
Gutter cleaning, deep cleaning and roof inspections are most common jobs that Brits put off
Checkatrade publishes the Beginners’ Guide to Home Maintenance to ensure there’s no excuse to delay
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6.4m British households are risking a bill of £20,000 on their properties, which they could easily have saved had they not put off simple tasks around the house.
The cost of home maintenance has risen by 3.5% in the past year, which has unsurprisingly led to some homeowners leaving it longer before they sort out a small problem.
Research commissioned by the leading tradesperson platform Checkatrade, has revealed that 1 in 3 people have admitted to putting off jobs in order to save money in the short term.
But Checkatrade is urging them to act now, as delays often lead to more work needing to be done further down the line at major costs of up to £20,000 extra a year.
Further research reveals the top jobs that homeowners postpone are cleaning drains and gutters (27%), deep cleaning (24% and calling someone in to inspect the roof (23%).
In response to this growing trend Checkatrade has launched its Beginners’ Guide to Home Maintenance – a handbook on the cost of key tasks and supporting advice on how to crack on with them. The guide has been compiled by building professionals and gives homeowners everything they need to ensure their property continues to run smoothly, so they won’t need to fork out extra in the months and years ahead.
The guide will also be key to explaining tasks that some homeowners aren’t comfortable with, after 19% of those surveyed put it down to a lack of understanding of basic tasks.
Checkatrade’s Beginners’ Guide to Home Maintenance reveals the cost of the most common home maintenance jobs and the cost of delaying them:
| The Job | Let's Do This | Wait and See |
|---|---|---|
| Gutter cleaning and maintenance | £120 | To soft wash a house and fix water damage will cost £1,500 |
| Roof inspections | £250 | £12,000 for a new roof |
| Chimney sweeping | £65 | If you need a new carpet or to replace furniture damaged by soot you’ll need to pay £2,000 |
| Boiler and appliance servicing | £100 | If you need emergency repairs, it will cost £600 and a new boiler will cost on average £1,000 |
| Gardening and tree surgery | £250 | Emergency tree felling can cost £2,000 |
| Deep cleaning | £250 | £300 for moth treatment |
| Last updated: May 2024 Our costs are ballpark averages - get a local tradesperson to quote now | ||